


Doorways

by Amythe3lder



Series: Irregular Pieces [10]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4217466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amythe3lder/pseuds/Amythe3lder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>Prompt: Lucky</strong><br/>That was the stunned expression of a man who knows the exact shape and measure of his good fortune.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doorways

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in 5 of HS.
> 
> Call me over and tell me how  
> Well, you got so far and never making a single sound  
> I'm not used to it, but I can learn  
> There's nothing to it, I've never been happier  
> "Where The Lines Overlap"-Paramore

There was a knock- three raps, quick and quiet- and John Watson would have missed it if not for the break in crying. He huffed and called out, “Come in at your own risk!” before remembering that the door to the street had been locked. The door opened on Molly, and John only spared her a glance before he turned his focus back to the squalling infant he held. The fact that she apparently had a key didn’t even register as a reason to raise his eyebrows. After all, she had a drawer of things here, too.

She was balancing four containers with labels affixed, and she gave an awkward finger wiggle in greeting before heading to the kitchen, where Sherlock intercepted her. “I only asked for three kidneys, what’s in the other?”

"Kidney bean soup," Molly answered with a bright grin.

Sherlock, to his credit, schooled his expression perfectly.

The dedicated experiment refrigerator had been a concession on John’s part, and he was already having second thoughts. He knew that there must be a better way to keep their home safe for human habitation and still allow his flatmate to work, and resolved to hash it out with Sherlock as soon as they could both think again.

A few minutes later, they had all but given up trying to soothe Elanor. She didn't need a change and she was uninterested in the bottle, and it wasn’t time for either of those anyway. When all the avenues that two doctors could think of had been explored, Molly made a sympathetic noise and suggested that maybe she just needed a good cry. There was no real urgency to the sound, she just seemed unhappy.

Another knock, and Mycroft strode in through the door with a file. Wordlessly, he handed the papers to his brother and held his arms out for the baby. Tired and out of options, John shrugged. He handed his daughter over to the bureaucrat, who squinted down at her for a second before blowing a puff of air across her reddened face. She blinked and stopped fussing. All three adults and the infant stared at Mycroft. When Elanor whined, the elder Holmes repeated his actions and she calmed down again. He actually smiled at her before passing her back. “How strange,” Sherlock remarked, “I had no idea that your fetid breath was an antidote for a crying child. You should have it piped into tube stations and marketed for sale.”

“It always worked on you, little brother. She got overwound and needed to be distracted.” He indicated the folder Sherlock was opening, now that the more important crisis had been seen to, “Speaking of diversions.”

As he began to sift through the contents, the detective said, “You could have emailed this.” When they didn't hear a response, John looked over and caught Mycroft sneaking glances at the pathologist, who was doing the same. He had it figured already when Sherlock concluded, "You knew Molly would be here.”

“Hoped,” Mycroft said quietly. He cleared his throat and bid them a good day before facing the woman in question. “Miss Hooper, could I bother you for a bit?”

“Please do! No-” she frowned, “I mean, _yes_ , Mycroft. You may.”

John firmly believed that what went on between consenting adults was none of his business. Unless it went on in his building. Unless one of the adults was a soft touch with a big heart and the other was a menacing control freak.

So if he drifted into the kitchen to peer through the side door, he was only making sure that his friend was okay. Besides, Sherlock was already there. They shushed each other, and watched.

“Not there,” Mycroft was saying to Molly, and waved her away toward the stairs leading up to the nursery.

She followed his direction, and heaved an exasperated sigh, “Cameras?”

“Just the one, in here. Don’t look!” he admonished, and she stopped the upward movement of her chin as she met him in the corner.

John could just hear her confide, “I missed you.”

Mycroft shook his head, “You just saw me twenty-nine hours ago.”

“And how long is it since _you’ve_ seen _me_?” she countered, and giggled when he looked vaguely embarrassed. He made to bend, then smirked and lifted her to the bottom step. He was still taller than she was, but this narrowed the gap. Their faces were suddenly very near, and John saw that recognition colour Molly’s cheeks and darken Mycroft’s eyes. For a moment, they simply took in the sight of one another, and John understood that he was witnessing something far more intimate than he’d been expecting. The usually staid older man was looking at Molly like she filled up more than just his line of sight, and John would have doubted his features knew that particular smile if it had ever before occurred to him to wonder. That was the stunned expression of a man who knows the exact shape and measure of his good fortune. John looked away politely to find Sherlock staring at him with a similar look, all soft around the edges. They both turned back to the hallway for want of anything else to do- they could hardly move now without drawing attention- and Mycroft was slowly drawing closer to his target. He brushed their lips together once, twice, before settling in and committing to the kiss; one that appeared rather heated despite its leisurely speed.

He felt considerably better about the whole thing now that he felt assured that Mycroft knew how lucky he was. However, John was in a bit of a quandary over how to get out of the doorway without alerting the couple in the hall. Elanor solved the puzzle for him by starting to babble loudly in his arms. Both Holmes men gave identical groans while John tried on several shades of red before finding one he liked enough to keep. Once she’d recovered from her nervous laughter, Molly pulled Mycroft into a quick embrace and hopped off the riser. She paused for a moment to pat John’s blushing cheek and whisper, “Get your own,” before making her way down the stairs and then Baker Street.

**Author's Note:**

> Mycroft's trick is one I used to employ when a baby I was minding would get worked up and upset. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
